Spreading his Wings : Learning to Fly
by FelesMagica
Summary: Seeing the value of having a wizard in the family, the Dursleys treated Harry properly and nicely, gaining a new son in the process. They fostered Harry's curiosity and love of knowledge, unknowingly changing his whole future. Ravenclaw!Harry
1. Chapter 1

**Spreading his Wings - Learning to Fly**

**Author:** FelesMagica

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters (these belong to J. K. Rowling), nor the idea of Ravenclaw!Harry, good!Dursleys, good!Malfoys and good!Severus. I don't know who owns them, to say I'm sorry for borrowing them. If I would know, I would ask. However, I **do** own my plot.

**Summary: **Seeing the value of having a wizard in the family, the Dursleys treated Harry properly, gaining a new son in the process. They fostered Harry's curiosity and love of knowledge, changing his whole future. Ravenclaw!Harry

**Genre: **Family / Friendship

**Challenge:** This is an answer to Sharlmalfoy's "The Different Sorting Challenge"!

**Warnings:** This story may contain some swearing and spanking. Furthermore, it contains Ravenclaw!Harry, good!Dursleys, good!Malfoys, good!Severus and some minor bashings. Don't like it, then please don't read further.

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Harry Potter was different. He knew since he was little that there was something about him that separated him from the others. Ever since he could think, he noticed the fine, yet very clear differences between him and other kids of his age. However, little Harry wasn't sad he was different. No, inwardly Harry was very pleased as he knew he was special in a good way.

After the sudden death of his parents, young Harry had been brought to his only remaining relatives, the Dursleys. The Dursleys lived in a very fine - one would be tempted to say snobbish - area in the suburbs of London city. Their house was neatly kept, not to be told apart from the neighbours' houses. It was painted in a clean white; the front yard was surrounded by flowers of different colours and some nice smelling bushes. All in all his relatives' home was quite an ordinary one.

When his relatives had first found him on their doorsteps they were less than pleased to be told to watch over him. They had a little son of their own, mere weeks older than Harry was and to be honest he was difficult enough. However, due to the letter and the more than threatening words in it shouldn't they be willing to keep him, the Dursleys finally allowed Harry to stay with grudging teeth. It wouldn't do them any good, would one of those men arrive at their home and disturb the perfect normal routine they had worked on for such a long time.

After a long shopping tour - the old fool had brought Harry to his relatives without providing him with anything a small baby would need so dearly to survive - the Dursleys furnished Harry's new room. Dudley's second bedroom, scarcely used due to the amount of toys residing in it, was moved and cleared out and then furnished with Harry's new things. A small, white bed was placed on the long side opposite of the door, a small table with two chairs placed under the window providing the room with light, a big, colourful carpet was placed in front of the bed, a big, white wardrobe placed next to the door and two shelves placed on each side of the window. They were filled with books and games for children they had to buy new, as Dudley tented to destroy his after short amounts of time. The walls had been painted in a light blue and several smaller pictures were hung up at the walls to make the room more comfortable.

When they had finished everything, Petunia and Vernon Dursley were more than pleased with themselves. Harry's room was not as big as Dudley's was, but it held everything a child could wish for and even more. For some moments, they had been debating about whether they should place the boy in the cupboard under the stairs, but soon after the thought had crossed their minds, they had pushed it away again. Harry was a family member and as such, he didn't deserve to be treated this way. Petunia might not have been fond of her sister and her husband, but if Petunia and Vernon had died, Lily would have taken Dudley in without complaining and would have raised him as another son of hers. To prove that she was as good as her sister, if not even better, Petunia decided against placing Harry there. Furthermore, it wouldn't be normal to do this to such a helpless, little baby, who had just lost his parents. And if there was one thing Petunia and Vernon Dursley hated more than untidiness, it was abnormality.

So it was decided to treat Harry as if any other family would treat an orphaned relative of theirs, with understanding, caring and love. For Harry later it had always been clear that Petunia and Vernon weren't his real parents, but honestly, he didn't care. They were there for him when he had a nightmare, they provided him with clothes, food and books, they tented his wounds when he had injured himself and they were there to tell him stories about his parents.

After Harry had been placed into their care, Petunia had taken her time to teach both boys how to walk and how to speak. Due to the amount of time the young boys spend together, they soon grew fond of each other and started to act like real brothers would do. When the two boys sat in Harry's or Dudley's room, Petunia and Vernon sometimes just would stand in the doorway, enjoying the way their son and their nephew acted. It was heartbreaking and breathtaking to see what good it did to Dudley to have another child living in their household.

When Harry and Dudley became three they went to the same kindergarten just a few blocks further. While Dudley would interact with other children, playing and joking with them, Harry would sit somewhere in a lonely corner, painting or reading a book. It was then that Harry's nursery-school teacher wanted to talk with Harry's guardians about his behaviour. She was deeply worried about Harry's social activities as he tended to isolate himself more and more with each passing day. Only Dudley would be able to break through his shell, sometimes being able to talk him into participating in their games. But when time passed, his actions got less and less successful and Harry isolated himself more and more.

Petunia and Vernon were concerned for their nephew. They had grown fond of him and this change in attitude and behaviour just surprised them. When all their efforts became fruitless and nothing seemed to work on Harry anymore, Petunia could finally take it anymore and took her nephew to a child psychologist. The young man talked with her for several hours and then decided to do the same with Harry. As she wasn't allowed to attend this meeting, Petunia had to wait in front of the door. Time didn't seem to pass by and Petunia started to walk up and down impatiently in front of the door, until finally the doctor and Harry had finished their meeting.

With trembling hands and fear clutching her heart, Petunia had followed the young doctor and carefully sat down on the chair he mentioned her. With an unconscious movement, Petunia Dursley grabbed Harry and then carefully placed him on her lap, stroking his hair absently in a loving and caring way. She feared for the worst, a traumatic experience, autism, a mental disease, just everything. But what the doctor told her, made her eyes grew wide and her breath hitch.

Harry, it seemed, didn't like to interact with children of his age as he didn't see it challenging enough. He loved to observe the changes in nature and people, loved to read and paint or just contemplate the things around him. Harry, the doctor told her, was very intelligent for his age and just didn't know what to do with the mind of his.

Petunia, after several moments of stunned silence was beneath herself with joy. Her Harry was normal, intelligent even and there was nothing wrong with him. The nice doctor encouraged her to send Harry to a primary school for highly talented children so he would learn how to interact with others who were just like him.

The moment Harry entered this special primary school, everything changed. He opened up more and more, he enjoyed reading and studying and finally he had made friends with a girl of his age and an older boy. Maria Maltems and Ibrahim Walton were the first best friends Harry ever had. They would visit Harry and his family often and soon became good friends with Dudley, too.

Petunia and Vernon were delighted by Harry's progress and tried to help and support him where they could. They bought him several books about science and everything he showed interest in, especially languages and later provided him with mind challenging games.

But Dudley on the other hand became more and more isolated until one day he would start to keep silent as soon as Harry entered the room. When Harry finally asked Dudley what was wrong - his cousin's behaviour had worried him for quite some time - Dudley confessed he felt like a total idiot, like some useless living being. He wasn't as intelligent as Harry and there wasn't able to be a competition to him. Harry was deeply touched when he heard of his cousin's fear of losing his parents love and of being nothing important, he nearly cried. But crying wouldn't help his cousin, so Harry forced himself to calm down and think logically. And then it hit him. With a big smile on his face, he told Dudley that it was true, that Dudley would never be able to beat Harry in intelligence. But that wasn't all that mattered. Harry was a lost case in sports, one of Dudley's favourite pass time activities. And so Harry encouraged the only logical thing. Dudley should improve in sports. So Harry could excel in intelligence and Dudley in sports. A broad smile was the answer to his suggestion and the next day Dudley had enrolled in the local boxing club, making his father extremely proud.

The years passed by and it was on Harry's seventh birthday that Petunia decided to talk with Harry about something she should have done much sooner. She had talked about this issue for a long time with Vernon and together they had finally come to the conclusion that there would be nothing bad about telling him. If they didn't and something strange happened, they would lose his trust and their authority for good.

They were sitting around the breakfast table, Harry's presents needed yet to be opened, when Petunia dropped the bomb. She told a completely stunned Harry that he was not only extremely intelligent, but also a wizard. This piece of news hit Harry deeply, as he would have never thought that such a thing as magic could be real. But Aunt Petunia insisted on Harry being a wizard, an extraordinary wizard none the less, and moved the whole family to the old, never used before attic. Once there she grabbed three huge chests and placed them in the middle of the room. In complete silence, the family sat down on the floor and waited for Petunia to continue with what she was doing.

Petunia sat down, sighed and then started her story. She told them how she grew up with her little sister Lily, Harry's mother and how everything just seemed perfect. They just did everything together, sharing the same friends and sometimes even sleeping in the same bed when they felt like it. Lily was always there for Petunia, as Petunia was always there for Lily.

And then, shortly after Lily had turned eleven, a letter changed everything. The Hogwarts acceptance letter had arrived and Lily was about to leave her sister for learning magic. Petunia had accompanied her sister together with her family to Diagon Alley. She had been awed and fascinated by what she had seen and there was where her problems had started. A little light of jealousy had started to appear in her chest and mind, soon burning brighter and brighter with each passing day, until it finally became a storm of hate, anger and deep jealousy.

When Lily had gone to Hogwarts, Petunia had felt abandoned. Lily would write them, the first weeks every single day, some months later only every once in a while and finally and after the winter holidays she would only write every few weeks. Lily would keep more and more to herself, studying all the time when she was at home or telling stories about everything he had experienced at Hogwarts. Petunia wanted to understand why Lily was so fascinated by this world, a world so different from her own, but each passing year it would get more and more difficult to understand her. And then, when Lily left for her last year at Hogwarts, everything got even worse.

Lily had written them that something bad had happened. People were dying, muggles as she called them, abducted, tortured and then killed. Professor Dumbledore, her headmaster, was founding a club, no, an order to fight against those who were causing all this mayhem in their world. Their work would be difficult, dangerous even, as Lily had told them, but she would join his order. She was one of the best witches who had ever attended Hogwarts and her help would be dearly needed.

Petunia had been against this idea. She thought it too dangerous. Lily would be fighting against those murderers, gaining their attention in the process. She would be on their killing list after a few months of work and if that, what she had told them was correct, she would not live very long while standing on this list. Probably she would be dead in less than a few years, a thought Petunia couldn't stand at all.

But Lily had insisted on joining this suicide mission. She saw it as her fate, as her destiny to those who were unable to help themselves. And no pleading and arguing from her family could change her mind.

And so the years passed. Lily had gotten to know better a former classmate of her, a wizard named James Potter, with whom she fell in love over the course of time. After one year of dating, Lily finally brought him home for a family meeting. The young man standing in front of them had surprised them all. He was good looking, charming and very educated. Lily told he was the heir of a very wealthy and respected wizarding family, something you noticed in how he behaved. Petunia had been happy for her sister. She had always longed for marrying and having a big family in the future and James just looked like the man who would provide her those wishes. And furthermore, Petunia had thought, James would be against Lily fighting in this war, as it would greatly endanger her and he seemed to really love her too much to lose her for such a thing.

But Petunia had been mistaken. James indeed was very much in love with her sister, but he was even more proud and brave than in love. He saw it as his duty for their community to fight, as he just like Lily, was one of the most powerful wizards graduating from Hogwarts. Together they had joined this obscure order and together they had started to work at the Ministry of Magic as something they called Aurors, wizarding special police. Their job was dangerous, several of their partners had already died doing their duty and several more would follow. It was a known fact, but just as the situation would get worse, the two of them would argue how important their job was. And the more people died, the more they fell in love with each other.

Their relationship was a foolish one. Based on nothing more than romantic and heroic feelings and a tiny bit of attraction for the other. They had nothing in common, except for their magical power and their feeling of duty. But three years after their graduation, they announced their engagement and their wedding in the near future. It was a foolish thing to do, as they attracted a lot of attention in doing so. He was a fighter for the light through and through, she was a muggleborn witch, the most powerful of her year and together they had killed and arrested more dark wizards than anyone else. Marrying while a war raged around them only placed them on an even higher spot in their enemies killing list.

The wedding took place in a very open and public place. Most of their friends had been invited, just like Petunia and her husband Vernon. To say Petunia had been enraged by what she saw would have been an understatement. They were at war, people died and here was her sister, getting piss drunk in an open place, where she could be attacked any moment. She had shouted at her sister, that what she was doing was wrong, to marry, get drunk and not care about your one safety while war raged around them, was just wrong. But her sister had ignored, told her to mind her own business and to just leave, if she didn't like what she saw. Petunia had been shocked. Her sister had changed dramatically. All this killing, people dying and having to live in fear must have taken their toll on her.

A year passed and Petunia barely saw her sister anymore. They had moved away, to some place that belonged to her husband, while Petunia had moved with her husband to Privet Drive. They lived their lives, living in fear and the constant knowledge that any day could be your last. Every morning and every night Petunia would watch the news, afraid that one day the murder of her sister would reach her via television. But nothing happened. Instead, the news of Lily having given birth to a baby boy named Harry reached her just four months after Petunia had given birth to Dudley.

Another year passed and everything got worse. More people were abducted, more people were tortured and even more people died. The muggle world was at a loss at what was happening, while the wizarding world wasn't able to live in constant fear and danger anymore. A huge wave of emigrants plagued the country, only weakening their defenses. Petunia wasn't able to watch the news so regularly anymore. Dudley was getting bigger and the bigger he got, the more attention he needed.

And then, at the morning after Halloween in 1990 it had happened. Petunia had opened the newspaper and was confronted with her sister's death. The entire front page was about how a young family had been killed in Godric's Hollow, her sister's last hide out. Their house had burned down to the ground, the corpses barely able to identify and their baby gone. Petunia had broken down, the loss of her sister had hit her quite badly and she had sworn to never get into any contact with the magical world anymore, as she blamed it for her sister's death.

A day passed and she noticed how her sister was famed as a heroine. She didn't understand it, though. Her sister was dead, how could this make her a heroine? The whole day she spent with collecting her sister's possessions, thing her sister had bought her over the course of the years. She collected her sister's photos, memorials of her existence; she collected her sister's letters, books, notes and other magical objects Petunia had guarded for her. All of her sister's belongings were placed in three, huge chests, placed on the attic and sealed, to never be opened again. The wizarding world had killed her sister; she would never forgive it for this act. The next morning they had found Harry on their front door steps.

When Petunia had finished her story, she had tears in her eyes and streaming down her cheeks. Between sobs, she confessed to Harry she never wanted him to be a wizard, as being a witch had cost her sister's life. But during the last years she had noticed, that being a wizard was Harry's gift and that it wouldn't be fair from her side to negate Harry this gift. Harry had been quite baffled, but he understood his Aunt's reasoning. So when Petunia asked for forgiveness he just hugged her and stroked her back.

His seventh birthday became quite special. The whole day he would sit in the attic with his family, looking through old photos of his mother and his father, reading old newspaper articles concerning the happenings of this time and examining Lily's magical possessions. When it got dark outside, Petunia and Vernon helped Harry carry down all the books, letters and notes his mother had possessed and placed them on the right shelves in Harry's room. The wanted Harry to know more about magic and the best way to proceed was to let Harry read through his parents' schoolbooks and notes.

Two years passed and Harry learned everything about magic he could. He read his parents' schoolbooks, figuring out what different types of magic existed and how they worked. The subject called Transfiguration was the art of changing the properties of an object. He would later be able to vanish and conjure things due to a complicated spell. In Defence against the Dark Arts, he would learn some defensive techniques. Charms would be about the development of incantations for the use of bewitchment, something that sounded quite interesting but difficult at the same time. Potions would teach him the art of creating mixtures with magical effects, something that sounded like a strange mixture between cooking and Chemistry. In Herbology he would learn about magical plants, how to take care, utilize and combat them. History of Magic was self-explaining, as it was about the magical history and Astronomy would teach him the influence the stars and the cosmos had on the living world.

Those would be the subjects he would have to take for the first two years. In his third year, he would be able to decide which two subjects out of five he would take. Arithmancy was a special branch of magic concerned with the magical properties of numbers. It sounded very difficult but interesting at the same time. Ancient Runes would be the study of the ancient runic script. In Divination, he would be able to learn the art of predicting the future, something that sounded quite obscure. Care of Magical Creatures would instruct him how to take care for magical creatures and Muggle Studies would instruct him how to mix correctly with muggles. Harry wasn't sure yet, but he predicted he was going to take Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, as they sounded very interesting. Muggle Studies wasn't necessary for him to take, as he knew this already quite well and Divination and Care of Magical Creatures sounded like something he would be able to learn out of a book by himself.

Harry became quite engrossed with magic. He already had studied his parents' schoolbooks, while he had been studying for primary school. Magic sounded interesting, but never in his life would he neglect his normal studies for some information about magic. He had time enough to learn about this in his free time. He knew from his parents' letters, that his mother was a genius at Charms and Potions, while his father excelled at Transfiguration and Defence against the Dark Arts. Harry didn't know for sure but he suspected this kind of affinity was hereditary and that those would be the easiest subjects for him, too.

Three years had passed since his Aunt had explained his heritage to him and everything had worked out perfectly. Uncle Vernon had been promoted several times and thanks to Harry's help, he had known how to correctly behave and act. Aunt Petunia was enjoying her time at home, cooking, reading and talking to the neighbours. A few months ago, a young family with two dogs and three little girls had moved in into the house next to them. Petunia had been beneath herself because of joy and had immediately invited them for tea. The three girls, all with blue eyes and long brown hair, were absolutely sweet and their parents were nice too. The Cohans would visit at least once a week and soon a great friendship between the two families had blossomed. Dudley excelled in his boxing club and became, after long rounds of training and a strict diet, one of the youngest boxing members of Surrey's boxing club.

All was going well, perfect even and Harry was waiting excitingly for his birthday to arrive. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had promised to make something special this year, as he now was finally becoming ten. Harry had been thinking for a while, what the perfect gift would be, but he couldn't figure it out. He had everything he needed; a huge room, clothes, toys, friends, a caring family and every wish granted should he only announce it. No, his material wealth was more than enough, he wouldn't need anymore of it or otherwise he would feel quite bad. So Harry had been thinking and thinking, throughout the nights and his spare free time and finally, two weeks before his birthday he found the perfect gift.

The next morning he had searched for his Aunt, asking her whether she would have time for a little chat. She had agreed, had lead him to the living room and then she had offered him some tea and biscuits. Harry took them gratefully as he was still unsure as how to approach his wish correctly. They had been eating and drinking for a while in silence, until his Aunt finally nudged him into telling her what was wrong. So Harry took all his remaining bravery and told her, in a calm and polite way, what he was wishing for his birthday.

To say his Aunt had been surprised would be an understatement. She nearly choked on her tea and needed several moments to compose herself. When she did, her eyes were wide in surprise and wonder, something like understanding and a little bit of longing glinting in them. Her lips had started to tremble lightly and her whole composure was the epitome of a struggle of feelings. Harry could see the tears in her eyes threatening to fall, but as soon as he had realized them, Petunia had wiped them away with the back of her hand. She slowly stood up, composed herself and then bent down to hug her nephew, promising him to speak with Vernon about his birthday wish.

The two weeks until his tenth birthday passed in a blur. Harry would barely see his aunt and his uncle as they seemed to be working hard. Every time he saw them, Vernon was searching for something on the internet or, reading one of Harry's parents schoolbooks. What he was searching for in them, Harry didn't know as he didn't dare to ask them. His aunt on the other hand was busy writing letters or speaking on the phone with different people about things he wasn't allowed to hear. They tried to hide something from him, Harry finally realized and this knowledge only made it worse.

The morning of his tenth birthday, Harry woke up with a start. The sun was shining and some birds were chirping but otherwise it was completely peaceful. With a slight frown, Harry wondered what could have woken him up. Shrugging his shoulders in indifference, Harry got off his bed and started to change in something more appropriate. Harry smiled broadly as he knew today was going to be a great day.

When Harry arrived in the kitchen, his aunt, uncle and cousin were already waiting for him. A small mountain of presents greeted him from behind the kitchen table and a richly set table greeted his hungry stomach. Hugs and kisses waved over him and as soon as he was able to breathe properly again, his aunt pulled him on a chair and told him to eat. Harry noticed, how his aunt and uncle were sending each other nervous gazes, but as he had his mouth full and knew it would be impolite to ask, Harry waited patiently for them to tell him what was on their minds.

As soon as they had finished eating, Harry was allowed to open his presents. Dozens of books greeted his eyes, most of them about magic and magical education, customs and basic knowledge. With a giddy smile on his face, Harry realized that his aunt and uncle had kept their words. They would allow him to study magic and to gather a great knowledge in its different branches. Finally, only one last letter was left for him to open.

Paying no real mind to it, Harry opened the letter, never realizing how the nervousness increased dramatically. He snatched the papers out of it and slowly began to read them. When he had reached the middle of the first page, his eyes suddenly grew wide and he had to gulp. Nervously he returned to the beginning of the letter and started to read it anew. When he had finally reached the bottom of the letter, his eyes were shining with tears and his hands were shaking.

Standing up from his chair, Harry went over to his aunt and uncle and hugged them dearly. "T-thank you so much."

His aunt was smiling and crying no less than him and eagerly returned the hug. "We thought it was the perfect present for you. I mean, you told me, you wanted to have a family. As your parents are dead and we can't easily revive them, this seemed to be the only solution. Don't get me wrong, we wanted this as much as you wanted it."

Reaching over to the letter, Petunia grabbed the papers and fetched a pen and knife. Turning around, she smiled at Harry and holds the pen for him to grab. "Don't you think it is time to sign the adoption papers?"

From this day on Harry Potter was known as Arian Evans. His parents Petunia and Vernon had supported his wish to change his name, so he could start a new life. Due to his parents properly research, they had found a ritual that would make Arian their son in more than just a legal way. His blood status and magic would stay as they were, just like his appearance, but in on each and every paper Petunia and Vernon would be his parents, just like Dudley would be his older brother.

The year passed in a blur. Arian had gotten used to having a real family rather quickly. His marks stayed up, his knowledge about magic increased and his whole posture and attitude changed. He nearly forgot that soon he would have to leave his family behind, to study at some foreign place he had read so many stories about. But one day, on his eleventh birthday, a brown owl appeared at the breakfast table, holding out its leg and waited for him to fetch the light brown letter.

With a fluttering heart, Arian looked at the seal, containing for different animals. Smiling broadly at his stunned parents and brother, Arian turned around and showed them the letter.

"My Hogwarts letter has arrived!"

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**A/N: **I hope, you don't mind, I changed Harry Potter's name into Arian Evans. I had to do, it's important for the plot line.

For ideas, criticism and other things, please feel free to leave a review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Spreading his Wings - Learning to Fly**

**Author:** FelesMagica

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters (these belong to J. K. Rowling), nor the idea of Ravenclaw!Harry, good!Dursleys, good!Malfoys and good!Severus. I don't know who owns them, to say I'm sorry for borrowing them. If I would know, I would ask. However, I **do** own my plot.

**Summary: **Seeing the value of having a wizard in the family, the Dursleys treated Harry properly, gaining a new son in the process. They fostered Harry's curiosity and love of knowledge, changing everything in doing so. Ravenclaw!Harry

**Genre: **Family / Friendship

**Warnings:** This story may contain some swearing and spanking. Furthermore, it contains Ravenclaw!Harry, good!Dursleys, good!Malfoys, good!Severus and some minor bashings. Don't like it, then please don't read further.

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As soon as Arian had opened the Hogwarts letter and read to his family what it said, his father had phoned his boss, informing him that he would be unable to come to work this day as they had a family problem at hand. His boss, very content with Vernon's work and progress, easily agreed to give him a free day so he could take care of the problem properly.

While Vernon had been on the phone, Petunia had told her sons to clean up and then change, as they would be going to London today. It was very early in the morning but they had to hurry, as it would take some time for them to arrive there and then to complete Arian's shopping list. Half an hour later the whole family was sitting in the car, properly fed and clothed and driving off to Diagon Alley.

Two hours later Arian, Dudley, Petunia and Vernon arrived in London town. After several nerve wracking minutes they finally found a nice parking lot not too far away from where this mysterious pub was supposed to be. Arian couldn't sit still, he was simply too nervous. After all, it was the first time he was going to get into contact with magic itself. Yes, he had read his mother's books, notes and letters, but seeing something magical for the first time with his own eyes and not through the eyes of his mother was going to be exactly this: magical.

"There it is, the Leaky Cauldron." His adoptive mother's voice reached him through his foggy, excited mind. Clapping the hands together and squealing in joy, Arian grabbed his brother's sleeve and pulled the mildly protesting boy with him into the pub. His parents only shook their heads and followed the duo with a sincere smile on their lips.

Inside the pub, it was dark. The furniture looked shabby and everything seemed to be a bit dirty. Scanning the room for a possible way to the famous alley, Arian's eyes fell on an old, fragile looking man. He seemed to be the barkeeper as he was cleaning the glasses on the bar without any hurry. When he felt the young wizard's eyes on him, he looked up and greeted him with a toothy smile.

"Hi lad. My name is Tom; I'm the barkeeper of the Leaky Cauldron. You want to go to Diagon Alley, right." His voice was loud and booming, different from what one would have expected from his appearance. Arian could see the man scanning him exactly, his eyes flickering several times over his eyes and his forehead. Nevertheless, whatever the man had been searching for, he obviously didn't find it.

Arian only nodded and noticed out of the corner of his eyes that his parents were coming towards him. He thanked the gods deeply that his appearance varied so immensely from his father's. His hair was much darker, the colour of jet black instead of a brown. He seemed to have inherited his mother's hair structure, as it fell to his shoulders in neat, strong waves. His eye colour was his mother's, too. Big, innocent, emerald green eyes were scanning their surroundings through dark, long lashes. Due to an accident he had as a child, his eyes had been cured through a laser treatment, so now he was able to see clearly without the need of any glasses. Around the same time, the disgusting scar on his forehead had started to vanish. At first, he had been surprised, but when the doctor told him, that it was a normal process he had calmed down immediately. Now his forehead was absolutely scarfree and nobody would ever know there had once been this strange, lightning bolt formed scar ruining his appearance. He was as tall as Dudley was and had a normal built, not skinny but neither fat. The amount of his mother's influence on his appearance must have been rather big, as several people had told him he looked rather feminine for a boy. At those moments, Arian had been scandalized, as it wasn't something a boy wished to hear. Nowadays he had to confess, they were right. Big eyes, long lashes, short, straight nose, full, red lips and long, wavy hair weren't exactly masculine attributes. It normally irked him, but on days like today, he was rather happy he looked so different from his father.

The strange barkeeper had greeted his parents and his brother, before he led them into a small room with a tall stone brick wall. He told them to watch intently what he was doing, and then he counted the stone bricks in a weird manner. He counted to thirteen and then, with a tip of his wand, the stone brick wall vanished. Seeing their astonished looks, Tom bid them farewell and wished them a nice shopping trip.

"Wow, so that's Diagon Alley?" Dudley, just like his brother was more than baffled. The shops looked ancient, the things they were selling weird and people who walked around them even stranger. He looked around once more, before he looked at his parents, only to nearly miss the sad, small smile on his mother's face.

"Yes, that's Diagon Alley." Petunia took her husband's hand into hers and then looked at her younger son. Arian was still scanning his surroundings with astonished and wide-open eyes. "Arian, dear, do you have letter so we will know what to buy and what to leave out?"

Arian nodded and reached into the pocket of his trousers. "Yes, I've got it. But before we buy anything, won't we need to go to the bank so I will have money to buy anything?"

His eyes were brighter and looking even more innocent than normal. Vernon could only chuckle at what his son was saying. "Son, as your parents it's our task to provide you with anything you will need, school material inclusive. I discussed this with your mother and we agreed that you should only use your inheritance once you have finished your school career. You will need for buying a house, or a car or whatever you will need then. Furthermore, it would only be right using our money to finance your needs, seeing as how often you helped me to get a promotion. So son, where to first?"

Arian blushed at the secrete smile, but nevertheless obliged and happily opened the letter. "Well, I would say we should start with my uniforms. I will need several of them, not to speak of some other things like hats, boots and gloves, and measuring will probably take some time."

Petunia nodded. "Then we should go to Madam Malkin's. There we bought your mother's school uniforms and if I remember correctly, she was the one to sell the one with the best quality but to fair prices. Her shop is over there. Hurry up, Dudley, perhaps there is something you want to have too and we might buy it."

Once they arrived at the old woman's shop, the woman in question looked at him critically and then scooped him into her shop. She told her assistant to provide his parents and Dudley with drinks so time would pass quicker and told Arian to take his place on one of the stools. A tall, blond haired boy was already standing there, waiting to be measured.

As soon as Arian had taken his place, the boy turned around and extended his hand in greeting. "Hi, are you going to Hogwarts, too?"

He had a soft, educated voice and Arian immediately realized he must be from one of those elite families who called themselves purebloods. Trying to make a good impression, Arian took the hand and shook it. "Yes. My name is Arian Evans." Seeing as the other opened his mouth to reply, Arian spoke up again. "Please, let me have a guess. You are blond, you are educated and you seem to come from a wealthy family. You are a Malfoy, aren't you?"

Clearly impressed by the other's knowledge a fine smile graced the blond boy's features and he nodded in approval. "You are right. I am a Malfoy, the youngest Malfoy at the moment and only heir to the family. My name is Draco, pleased to meet you."

Titling his head to one side in thought, the blond boy scanned Arian. "You seem to have quite some knowledge about our world. I have to say, I'm impressed. From your name, I would have guessed you were a muggleborn. But this can't be right, can it?"

Arian nodded slightly, his eyes never leaving the steel grey ones opposite of him. "You are right. My father was a pureblood wizard, while my mother seemed to have been a half blood witch. I was told she was a muggleborn, but I scanned our family tree and found some names that just can't be muggle. Sadly, I won't be able to ask her, as both my parents had been killed some time ago. That is why I live with my Aunt and her family now, who are Muggles or squibs I guess in my Aunt's case. She was the one to take me in after my parents' death. That is why my name might sound so muggle, too. They adopted my some years ago and let me choose a name of my liking."

The blond boy had a small smile on his lips, his eyes suddenly looking sad. "I'm sorry to hear this. It's a cruel and hard thing to lose your parents. You don't earn such a hard loss. At least you have your Aunt. She must be a good person to take you in and treat you like another son, to adopt you even. However, please, let us change the topic. What house do you think will you go to?"

The topic must have been a good one, as Arian's green eyes immediately brightened. "Oh, I think I will become a Ravenclaw. I have read it is for the intelligent and creative ones, who like to study and possess some wit. I think I would enjoy it greatly there, as I really like to study and learn a lot. I just hope I won't be send to Gryffindor. I read they only value braveness and force. Neither I'm brave nor do I possess force. Even Hufflepuff would be better than having to live with bunch of thoughtless and mindless children."

A chuckled escaped the composed bond's lips. "Yes, I think you are right, you will certainly become a Ravenclaw. I think Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad for me, either. However, personally I wish to become a Slytherin. My parents both were Slytherin and their parents before them. It just wouldn't look good being sorted into another house, especially Gryffindor or Hufflepuff." At the mere mention of those houses, Draco wasn't able to suppress a shudder.

Arian had to laugh; the look of horror was just too comical on Draco's face. "Don't you worry, Draco. Slytherin house is for the ambitious and cunning ones, two qualities you both clearly possess. And seeing as how your parents raised you, you certainly will become a member of Slytherin house. Your parents' influence has clearly rubbed onto you."

There was a small pause during which neither of them spoke. While Draco was looking at the smaller, dark haired wizard in shock, Arian observed the tailor's doing critically. "Wow. You're the first one I have met who spoke about Slytherin and saw cunning and ambition as something positive. All those other immediately started to yell about how Slytherin always produces bad wizards and how everyone going to Slytherin is just plain dark and evil. I must say, I'm impressed."

Arian snorted indignantly at what Draco had said. "Such rubbish. One house can't decide whether you are a good wizard or not. It's the person's individual decision that makes the results. Okay, so the Dark Lord came from Slytherin. What's it? Yes, he had supporters from Slytherin, but certainly, he had just as many supporters in each of the other houses, Gryffindor included. So why should Slytherin be responsible for the all the bad in the world? It's just not fair."

He wanted to continue, tell Draco something different, but in exactly this moment, Madam Malkins announced he was finished and free to go. With a sincere smile at Draco and the promise they would see each other on the train, Arian bid him farewell and went to look for his family, who were waiting patiently in the entrance room. Armed with five sets of plain black working robes, two black hats, two pairs of special protective gloves, two winter robes with several long and thick scarves and the knowledge that he had just made his first wizarding friend with Draco Malfoy none the less, Arian and his family left the shop and went to the apothecary.

There they bought the standard first year's potions kit and some other ingredients, too, that might come in handy in the future. As it stank horribly in the small room - like rotting eggs and bad meat - they tried to be as quick as possible and soon later they stood in a big room, filled with cauldrons of different sizes and materials. They bought three ones, a small, a normal and a big one and then left to search for a shop selling telescopes and scales.

Once they had found these they only had the wand and books left to buy. As Arian wanted the wand to be the last thing to buy, they went to Flourish & Blotts. Once entering the shop, Arian thought if he died now, he would die happily. There were books, thousands of books several stages high. They had different colours, different sizes and some seemed to talk or bite if you tried to open them.

His parents agreed that the normal school books wouldn't be enough. So while Vernon told the clerk he was in need of the first year's Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Astronomy and History schoolbooks, Petunia, Dudley and Arian searched for different and more informative books. Nearly one hour later they had found what they had been looking for and Arian left the shop with his bags filled with books about pureblood society and costumes ("Your parents were wizards of the higher society, you will need all of those books dear."), magical creatures and other half human beings, wizarding history and witches and wizards with great influence, Hogwarts - A History, Laws and the function of the Ministry of Magic and some others to provide him with background information on his actual school subjects. While he had been searching for some books about jobs and job descriptions in the wizarding world, a tall, red haired, freckled boy had bumped right into him, causing Arian to spill his books on the floor. But instead of apologizing, the boy turned around and then looked down his nose at the then kneeling boy. "Watch where you're walking, midget." he had spat and then he had turned around and walked by. Arian had cursed him under his breath; while Dudley had bent down to help him.

Soon later they finally arrived at the last shop on their list: Ollivander - excellent wands since 382 b. c. When they entered a soft humming informed the owner of their presence. Not one second later a tall, thin, old man with pale, wide-open eyes came to help them. He wore some purple robes and a fitting purple hat, while his long white hair and beard floated down his thin body. He didn't seem to have expected them as his eyes widened at their sight and a sincere smile appeared on his lips.

"Welcome, my dears. You came to buy a wand, didn't you? Please, young wizard, step forward and tell me your name." The silvery eyes were twinkling madly at Arian, silently giving him the creeps. How could one old man look so senile and dangerous at the same time beneath him.

Hesitating slightly, Arian stepped forward. "Hello, my name is Arian Evans and these are my parents Petunia and Vernon and my brother Dudley." He swiftly extended his hand and held it open in greeting. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Ollivander"

The tall wand maker chuckled, while he took the offered hand and shook it. "Pleased to meet you too Mr. Evans. May I presume your right hand is your wand hand?" Seeing the nodding, Ollivander nodded in return and then grabbed one of boxes lying around in the small room. "Here try this one. Just grab it and then wave it over your head. Beechwood and dragon heart fibre. Nine inches. Just grab it and wave it."

Arian hesitantly grabbed the wand and waved it, but nothing happened. Immediately the tall wizard snatched the wand away, while searching for another. While he was searching, he explained what exactly a wand was to the slightly astonished Muggles. "Every wand made by Ollivanders' has a very magically potent core. We use dragon heart fibres, phoenix tail feathers and unicorn tail hair. There aren't two similar wands as each wand is absolutely unique. Here, Mr. Evans, try this one. Holly and unicorn tail hair. Ten and a half inches."

Arian grabbed the wand again and waved it. He tried and tried and tried, but every time it was the same. Nothing would happen and Ollivander would snatch away the wand again. He slowly started to fear he wasn't going to get a wand. But the more time and wands passed the merrier Ollivanders got. Finally the old wand maker turned around and watched Arian intently. He titled his head to the side, his brows furrowed in thought.

"Well, could it be? No, it couldn't... or could it? Well, let's try it. Here, Mr. Evans try this one. Mahogany and ivory, dragon heart fibre, phoenix tail feather and unicorn tail hair. Twelve and a half inches. Grab it and wave it, Mr. Evans."

Without hesitation, Arian grabbed the wand. As soon as his fingers touched the cool wood of the wand, a feeling of warmth and completion spread through his body, filling his soul. He grabbed the wand further and then, with a forceful movement he waved the wand over his head. A shower of gold, silver and bronze sparks rained down on him.

"Wonderful, Mr. Evans, wonderful." The elderly wand maker clapped his hands in joy and happiness. "It seems I finally found the perfect match for this more than difficult wand. Years have passed and never once was there just a single person who looked like he or she could handle this special wand. Thankfully now this wand finally found his rightful owner."

"Why is this wand special? What's wrong with it?" The sudden very anxious and fearful voice of Petunia penetrated their ears. Her face was screwed up in fear, while her hands clasped strongly on her husband's arm.

A chuckle escaped Ollivanders lips as he watched the obviously distraught young woman. "No, Madam, there is nothing wrong with this wand and it certainly isn't dangerous at all. Far from it. As you can see, there wand is formed through a mixture of two woods, the white one ivory and the black one mahogany. The core of this wand is a special. A phoenix feather, a dragon heart fibre and a unicorn hair form its magical core."

All eyes were now on the wand in Arian's hand. "It is something special, you know. It told you before, that each wand normally consists of one type of wood and one of the three magical core substances. But not this one. It is a perfect mixture a perfect symbiosis. A joke wand, If you like to call it this."

This statement brought Arian back to reality. A look of utter indignation on his face, he drew himself up and threw a maniacal glare at the wand maker. "You want to sell me a joke wand, Mr. Ollivander? A _joke wand_?" His voice was steely and cold as ice. Would air be cutable, pieces of it would fall down to the floor.

Mr. Ollivander realized the danger he was in. He brought his hands up in surrender or was it defence and then chuckled lightly. "You misunderstood, Mr. Evans, you misunderstood. This wand clearly isn't a joke wand. It functions quite well as you just realized yourself. No, with joke wand I meant it was created due to a joke. I was young, very young to be honest and I didn't have any wood nor any magical substances left to make a normal wand. But I did still have some rests. I had some ivory and mahogany, just some unicorn hair, dragon fibre and phoenix feather. It wouldn't last for a three wands, but for one it would be enough."

The old man sighed, a hand mindlessly running through his hair. "I knew it was very stupid to do so. I knew such a wand wouldn't be able to be sold. It's a special wand, as I said before, and his owner would have to be special, too. This choice of wand shows me, you are undecided. You have many qualities but you don't know which of them you will follow and which you will not. Furthermore you have to be quite powerful to rein such a wand. This wand will accompany you during your whole life. Regardless the choices you will make, your wand won't abandon you."

With each word said the wand maker's voice dropped and dropped. "You don't know who you are. There are your birth parents, but then there are adoptive parents, who you love just as much as your real parents if not even more. You feel like betraying your parents' memory. Therefore you will have to decide which way you will follow. Another choice is that you don't even know whether you want to start a new life in the wizarding world or if it wouldn't be better to stay in the muggle world with your family. The next decision you have to make. Which house will you be in? With whom will you befriend? What kind of morals will you keep? What perspective of the world will you gain? Will you follow your parents' path or will you create your own? Will you study a lot or just enjoy your life? Will you do as you are told to or will you do what you think is right? Who will be your ideal, your leader and who will be your foe, your enemy? So many questions and not a single answer at the moment. You will have to make decisions, difficult decision that is. But fear not, young wizard, you will do the right thing. And you will never be alone. Your wand will always be with you."

A strange silence ensued between them. While the wand maker was humming lightly and whipping his head to a melody only he seemed to hear, Arian and his family tried to progress what they had been told. It was spooky. The old man hadn't even known his name, but nevertheless he seemed to know Arian better than Arian knew himself. How was it that this old man knew what thoughts and fears plagued his mind when Arian didn't want to confess to himself that he was afraid?

A light clearing of a throat brought them all back to reality. Vernon, his right arm firmly slung around his wife's waist, was standing there clearly uncomfortable with the whole situation. He reached into his pocket and extracted his moneybag from it. He wouldn't stay any moment longer in this strange shop and paying for the wand was the only thing left.

Mr. Ollivander looked positively distressed for having scared away some of his clients and tried to be extra nice when they left. Vernon had paid seven galleons for the piece of wood filled with magical substances and as soon as the money had left his hand, he had grabbed his sons at their arms and positively dragged them out of the store, a very confused and worried looking Petunia following them.

"Well, that was strange." Dudley's statement was accompanied by two snorts from Arian and Vernon. For several moments they were just standing in the Alley, not knowing what to do. The nice and comfortable atmosphere had left, leaving behind an air of confusion and light fear. The old wand maker had known things he shouldn't have and what he told about Arian's future wasn't too good looking either.

A sudden clap of hands caused them to jump. Looking around frantically they found Petunia beaming at them. "We nearly forgot the most important thing. You are allowed to take an animal with you, Arian. A cat, an owl or a toad, if I remember correctly. Let's go to the shop over there and have a look at the animals so you can decide which one you want."

She grabbed her sons at their arms and dragged them over to the pet shop. A huge arsenal of animals was waiting to be bought. There were cats of all colours, different kinds of birds, especially owls, toads and lots of other animals and creatures Arian had never once before seen in his life. As by an invisible force, Arian was pulled to the box with the small kittens. Seeing his mother's questioning look, he tried to explain.

"I would like to have a cat, if it's okay with you. I always wanted to have one. They are easy to be cared for and are good at keeping company. A toad just is cold and a little bit slimy if I remember correctly and therefore not something I want to keep with me in my free time. An owl surely would be practically, but you can't stroke them and furthermore there are school owls at Hogwarts, so keeping in contact with you won't be a problem even if I don't own an owl."

His mother nodded in understanding, a sincere and understanding smile on her lips. But nevertheless she walked over to where the owls were located, dragging Dudley and Vernon with her. He knew his mother was fascinated with birds. Shaking his head in amusement, Arian bent down and examined the kittens further.

They were all beautiful. There were black ones, brown ones, white ones and grey ones. They had different forms, different hair lengths and different eye colours. While his eyes scanned the sea of fur and purring, he suddenly stopped. There, in the left corner of the box, was the most beautiful kitten he had ever seen. It was a Russian Blue one. It was a small kitten, with long, elegant legs and a gracious body form. Its pads were small and oval, while her tail was long and thin. Its fur was short and of a silvery blue colour. Two big orbs of sky blue of the form of almonds were looking at him curiously.

Arian extended his hand and the kitten curiously approached him, purring softly when his fingers ran over its body. With careful movements Arian grabbed the kitten and brought it to his chest in a loving gesture. Turning around he found his family talking or better discussing with the clerk. Just when he arrived at the cash point, his mother turned around, her look brightening immensely when she noticed the kitten on his arms. Vernon, too, noticed his son and addressed the patiently waiting clerk.

"Well, that's it, then. We will take this owl, this cat and everything the two animals might need. A transport box, a cage, food, toys, two books about how to correctly care for them and a collar for the kitten there."

The clerk nodded dutifully and disappeared. Moments later he came back with several boxes and bags, giving them to Vernon, who paid the clerk and then motioned for his family to follow him out of the shop. As the Alley was crowed due to the late hour, they made their way to their car, trying to be as fast as they could be. Several times Arian noticed people staring at him, then looking at his forehead and then walking past him while shaking their heads.

When they finally arrived at their car, the Dursleys and Arian breathed a sigh of relief. Arian's shopping got neatly packed into the trunk. Vernon and Petunia took their places in the front of the car, while Dudley and Arian took their places in the back of it, the cage with the black owl between them and the small kitten purring contentedly on Arian's lap.

Arian's gaze fell on the owl next to him. It was a beautiful one, with night black feathers and startling, light grey eyes. Its beak was sharp, just like its crawls. Arian guessed it had to be a male one, as it was surprisingly big in comparison to the other owls.

His mother, who had seen her son watch the owl intently, turned around and smiled at him. "I know you said it wouldn't make sense to buy an owl as there will be more than enough school owls at Hogwarts to use for correspondence. But we, your father, your brother and I, thought it would be nice to be able to write you when we wanted and not always having to wait for you to send us a letter so we could send our answer back. That is why we bought Merlin here." Seeing the rising eyebrow, Petunia explained. "Dudley chose this name. He said he found it fitting for a magical owl."

Arian smiled at his blushing brother and nodded his head. It really was fitting in a way. "Well, Arian, what kind of kitten did you buy and what's its name?"

"I bought a Russian Blue. The clerk told me it is female and had yet to be named. Furthermore he told me it was a good kind of cat to start with. Russian Blue is supposed to be easy going, easy to be cared for and good at keeping company. But if enraged or endangered correctly, they can become quite vicious, too. And they become possessive with the years, not liking to see their owner distressed or hurt."

He looked down at the sleeping kitten in his lap, a small smile spreading over his features. "I'm going to call her Sinni. It's Russian and means blue. I know it's not exactly creative but I like the name and it's fitting, too."

A grumble from his right let Arian turn around. His brother, already drifting off into sleep, tried to talk to him even in this state of mind. "Well, it _is_ fitting." A big yawn made it impossible for him to speak for several moments. When his mouth was closed again, his eyes were, too. "You know, Arian, this was a very interesting day today. You are lucky you are a wizard and that you are able to attend this magical school."

Arian leaned back into the seat and closed his eyes. Yes, he was indeed lucky to attend Hogwarts. But he would be separated from his family, only able to see them during the holidays. And then there was all this new stuff, he didn't know about. Draco Malfoy was lucky to grow up in the knowledge of being a wizard and with people around him who would be able to help him progress with his magic. There was so much he didn't know and so much he should know before attending. Vowing to himself that he would study his books properly for the next weeks so he would be perfectly prepared, Arian drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

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**A/N: **Reviews, constructive critisism and ideas for the future plot line are most welcomed! Just leave them and make my day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Spreading his Wings - Learning to Fly**

**Author:** FelesMagica

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters (these belong to J. K. Rowling), nor the idea of Ravenclaw!Harry, good!Dursleys, good!Malfoys and good!Severus. I don't know who owns them, to say I'm sorry for borrowing them. If I would know, I would ask. However, I **do** own my plot.

**Summary: **Seeing the value of having a wizard in the family, the Dursleys treated Harry properly, gaining a new son in the process. They fostered Harry's curiosity and love of knowledge, changing his whole future. Ravenclaw!Harry

**Genre: **Family / Friendship

**Challenge:** This is an answer to Sharlmalfoy's "The Different Sorting Challenge"!

**Warnings:** This story may contain some swearing and spanking. Furthermore, it contains Ravenclaw!Harry, good!Dursleys, good!Malfoys, good!Severus and some minor bashings. Don't like it, then please don't read further.

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Just some answers to question which have been asked several times or which might be of general interest:

Feminine Arian:

Arian does by no means look or act like a real girl. He doesn't look like a real man either at the moment and he doesn't have to. I mean, he is eleven years old. I find it very hard to believe any eleven year old kid (boy or girl) could look like a grown up masculine man or grown up feminine woman. In reality, they look kind of alike. While growing up, their bodies change and become more defined and mature. So no need to worry. Arian will look like a real man once he is old enough.

(Just for those who are interested. I'm not lying when I tell you those things. I work with kids between the ages of seven and seventeen on a daily basis. I know how drastically their bodies change.

For those who don't believe me. My little brother - well, he is just one year younger than me - looked like a girl when he was small. He looked even more than a girl than I did, and that was critically seeing as I'm a girl. But now, at the tender age of eighteen, I have been told my brother looks really hot and like a man. So, yeah, it is realistically and nothing different will happen to Arian)

Gay Arian and possible Slash:

Just because Arian seems to be more feminine than the average eleven year old boy, doesn't mean, Arian is going to be gay, or submissive/ girly gay by any means. To be rather honest, I planned for Arian to find himself a lovely, nice and feminine girlfriend over the course of the story. And please, do remember, Arian will become more manly around this time, too. But as Harry is only eleven years old at the moment and I didn't plan for romance to appear before the age of fifteen/ sixteen, you will have to wait some more chapters to find out.

(I don't have a problem with slash. I just don't think I would be able to write it seeing as I'm straight and can't imagine properly where the problems, advantages, disadvantages or whatever lay. Therefore, I will be able to tell you with nearly utmost reassurance, it won't be slash.)

Arian's knowledge about Draco becoming a Slytherin:

I told you in the first chapter. Arian is more intelligent than the average student. Furthermore I told you, he was reading books about purebloods and their history. Therefore it is no wonder, he came across the Malfoys. All of Draco's family, except for Sirius Black and Nymphadora Tonks, went to Slytherin. And Draco had this slightly superior/ better-than-you attitude. So where else would a proud pureblood go to than Slytherin? Furthermore he first of all asked Arian, whether he was a muggleborn, something other Houses don't really care about. So I found it kind of logically Arian would know. Sorry, if you didn't.

The disappearing scar:

This process will be explained in later chapters. Only this much I can already reveal to you. Due to the changes in Arian's childhood and the acceptance of his family, Arian's magic grew constantly and started challenging Voldemort's, resulting in the disappearance of the curse scar. How this process took place exactly and what the consequences of this will be, you will see, or better read, in the future.

Arian looking like Lily:

In my fic, Arian won't look like a living replica of his father. I don't like this; it seems to me rather improbably. Arian will be a perfect blend of both of his parents. At the beginning he will look more like his mother Lily but over the course of time and with maturing, he will gain some parts of James' appearance. But Arian looking more like Lily at the moment and at the beginning of this story is rather important for the development of the story.

Arian taking over the sure name Evans instead of Dursley:

This is going to be explained in this following chapter. If you are interested, than please continue reading.

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The morning of Arian's departure had been a stressful one. As his family had decided to join him on his way to the platform, they had to get up rather early so Arian would be able to catch the train. Petunia had got up extra early to prepare a healthy breakfast and to make sure her son had everything he needed for his first time away from their home. A tight knot appeared in her throat and her eyes started to burn, but Petunia wouldn't let herself cry. No, she had other things to do, important things and grieving her son's absence was something she would be able to do later.

With a firm set chin, Petunia rushed through their morning program, waking her sons and her husband, checking over his things and making sure he looked more than acceptable. His hair had to be brushed, his trousers and his shirt had been ironed and his trunk and the box for his kitten Sinni had been polished. With a grin Petunia remembered his disgruntled face, when she had taken all of his clothes in order to look through them and sorted through to look for those that would be accepted by the wizarding community. To her it always appeared to be strange, but Lily had told her that all wizards had a thing for wide, colourful, fluttering clothes.

So after she had purchased and packed a set of different dress pants, all in black, dark grey and dark blue, several shirts, jackets and pullovers. As she knew from her sister, Hogwarts was situated in the north of Scotland; she had packed a warm winter jacket, scarves, caps and gloves. Arian, she thought with a little pang, would need them dearly before the Christmas break.

After a quick breakfast, Petunia succeeded in bringing her men to sit in the small car. While Vernon took his place on the driver's seat, Petunia sat down on the seat beside him. On the back seat bench, Arian and Dudley were squeezed together. Sinni, Arian's cat, was sitting in her transport box, purring contentedly and waiting for what was to come. On Dudley's lap was placed Merlin, the family owl, in his cage. Petunia had decided, Arian should take him with him and then send him home with a letter, so Merlin would know where to look for her son.

The drive to London was a pleasant though a strange one. All four knew that they wouldn't see each other for the next four and a half months. This definitely was killing the good mood, but neither of them wanted to think about it, so instead they tried to ignored this and tried to enjoy the time. When the car arrived at the train station, Vernon fetched Arian's gigantic and heavy trunk. While Arian was carrying his cat's transport box, Dudley carried Merlin's cage. Petunia was walking between them, leading her young sons to where she knew was platform 9 and three quarters.

Arian, just like Dudley and Vernon, was more than suspicious when Petunia told them they would have to just to walk through the pillar between the two platforms. But he trusted her and after taking a last deep breath, Arian firmed his grip on Sinni's transport box and then walked over to the pillar. Closing his eyes, Arian waited for the crash and the pain to come. But when nothing happened and he was still waiting for the expected impact, Arian carefully opened his eyes.

What he was seeing was something he had never seen before. There was a huge, fire red train; hundreds of people, most of them into strange, colourful, wide robes were standing on the crowded platform, waiting for the train to leave. Exhaling deeply, Arian walked forward to a less crowded place, waiting for his family to join him.

"Wow, Arian, that's so cool! I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

Smiling, Arian turned around and looked at his bigger brother. The blond haired boy was jumping from foot to foot, his eyes darting rapidly through the strange platform, trying to take in everything that was to be seen at the same time. Had he clapped his hands and squealed in joy, the picture would have been perfect.

Vernon, who had arrived behind his son, smiled broadly at his younger son. The heavy trunk was placed to his feet, an arm slung around his wife's thin shoulders.

"We should bring your trunk to one of the compartments, so you won't have to worry about this later."

Arian nodded. Together he and Vernon tried to hoist the heavy trunk over to the train. It was rather difficult and bringing the trunk into the train, seemed to be nearly impossible, but after some trying and pushing, the trunk was finally inside on a compartment, one that was thankfully empty. Sinni in her transport box was left together with Merlin inside the compartment. Nobody would try to touch them or take them away; Arian had made sure of it.

Standing outside again, an awkward salience ensued. Petunia, with huge tears shining brightly in her blue eyes, was staring at him intently. Before he or she knew what came over her, Petunia grabbed her younger son and suddenly pulled him into her arms. Crushing him against her fragile body, silent sobs wrecked her thin frame. Not knowing what else to do, Arian tried to comfort her with strokes and small pats.

"If you ever feel lonely, misunderstood or sad, feel free to write us. I will write back as soon as I can. You don't have to feel fear, Arian, you will like it there. There are lots of other children; you will see getting to know them will be easier than you thought. And the things you will learn there, love, you will just love it."

Still hugging him, Arian firmly hugged her back. The words had touched him, deeper than he would have ever thought they would. Feeling a slight pat on his back, Arian opened his eyes and turned around. His father was standing right behind him, an encouraging smile on his lips and eyes full of different emotions.

"You will see time will fly by. And then, just a few months later, you will come home again and we will celebrate Christmas together like all the other years before. If you want, you can bring a friend with you, though I think they will want to celebrate Christmas with their families. But for the rest of the holidays having friends over will be just fine."

Seeing the sincere and caring look in his father's eyes, Arian tried to smile back at him. He didn't know what had come over him; he wasn't the emotional type normally. But now, so soon before he was about to leave his family for first time for a longer period, he just couldn't change it.

"Yeah, bro, you will see. Everything will turn out fine. You made friends easily in Surrey; you will make friends easily in Hogwarts." Lowering his voice, Dudley came nearer and then whispered carefully. "And check out some girls for me. You know, I wouldn't mind dating a witch."

Arian snorted and rolled his eyes. Leave it to his older, though still very young brother to think about girls at such a moment. Promising to himself that he would someday play matchmaker between his brother and one of the witches he might get to know in the future, Arian turned around and smiled at him broadly, too.

At this moment the signal went and everywhere parents were rushing their children to board the train.

With a last firm hug, Arian broke free of his mother's clutches. He carefully kissed her cheeks, before he turned around and hugged his father and brother briefly. Stepping on the train, Arian leaned out of the window to speak with his family before travelling into an unknown but exciting future.

"Son, you are our son by everything, now even by blood. You are part of our family. And we Dursleys may be all, but we are not stupid and we don't let others rule over us easily. So, Arian, go to Hogwarts and show them what you've got. Show them what it means to be an Evans, an honorary Dursley. Make the family name proud, Arian. But remember, son, we love you, no matter what."

Just after his father had ended his pep talk, the train started to move. His family remained standing, waving at him while the train started to advance from them quicker and quicker. Arian stood at the window, watching his family disappear and wave at them until after a final curve he couldn't see them anymore. With a long, silent sigh, Arian let himself fall down on one of the comfortable seats.

The landscape was rushing by and Arian was just thinking about retrieving one of his books to reread some information, when the door to his compartment opened and a figure slid in.

"Here you are, Arian. I have been searching all over the train for you."

Arian smiled and looked up into the smiling face of a blond, aristocratic Malfoy heir. The young Malfoy had his hair cut relatively short, laying back even without the use of any gel. Idly Arian asked himself if this was done by magic. If indeed, he would have to ask for the spell one day. The dark green robes were shining lightly in the bright sun of the midday.

"Draco, nice to see you. Come in and have a seat."

The blond boy just smiled back at him and complied. Readjusting his robes, Draco turned around and looked at Arian with lightly questioning eyes. Arian titled his head, waiting for what the blond boy might want to know. But all his worrying proved to be useless, as Draco was interested in how he had spend the rest of his holidays.

This caused Arian to laugh lightly and with no hesitation or reluctance left, Arian complied and latched himself into the story. Draco, Arian had to realize with a lot of surprise was a good listener and seemed to be really interested in what Arian was telling him. Once Arian had finished, it was Draco's turn to tell what had happened during the last days.

Arian was delighted about what Draco could tell him. It was so much insight in the pureblood society, so much more than every other book could provide him with. Not to get him wrong, Arian loved his books and he know he could always relay on them. But this time, Arian just knew that nothing described in all those books he had read, could have this insight, like Draco's tale had it. And if there was one thing Arian loved just as much as books and his family, it was gaining knowledge. So Arian did what every intelligent and ambitious kid would do. He took the opportunity and asked carefully every single question the books hadn't been able to answer him.

Around one hour after Draco had started his tale, there was a tiny knock at their compartment door and it slid open. A small group of kids around their age was standing before the door, looking at them intently. When their gaze fell on the blond boy sitting opposite of Arian, they slowly entered. Sitting down carefully, Draco extended his hand and greeted them.

The first one, a dark haired boy with dark eyes, was Theodore Nott. Beside him sat a dark haired boy with piercing blue eyes who was named Blaise Zabini. Next to Arian, on his right side, was sitting a blond haired girl with light blue eyes, who went by the name of Daphne Greengrass and a brown haired girl with light brown eyes, who told him she was called Pansy Parkinson. Flanking the door were two big, dark haired boys. Draco said their names were Crabbe and Goyle. As nobody told him their given names, Arian tried not to bother.

They were all Draco's friend, Arian was told, friends since they were all recently born. All of them were kids from pureblood families. They were raised the same as Draco had been and acted exactly like him. Arian was beneath himself with joy, he had get to known five kids from his year already and he really liked them so far.

When they had finished explaining to Arian the importance of their behaviour, the girls got engrossed in girls talk, gossiping about what other girls their age. The two boys who went only by their sure names got up and bought a lot of sweets and other food, while Theodore had fetched a book and started reading it. Only Draco and Arian was left and seeing as all the others were occupied, Draco dared to ask the one question burning on his tongue for quite some time now.

"Hey, Arian. I know this might be too personal, but would you mind me asking whether the woman and the man, accompanying you to the platform, were your parents?"

Arian looked at Draco critically. He knew, as Draco was a pureblood, he wouldn't spill this to anyone else, as this was against pureblood behaviour rules. He knew he could trust Draco, he knew he would never tell this to anyone else without asking Arian first. Looking briefly at the others, Arian decided. The others were Draco's friends, his best friends that were it, and if he could trust Draco, he could trust them, too.

"Yes, those were my parents. Though it was clearly visible they aren't my birthparents. They adopted me some time ago."

The others weren't listening, or if they were, they hid it very good. Draco meanwhile was looking at him intently, a little frown on his forehead.

"I thought so. I mean, they all had blond hair and blue eyes, while you have black hair and green eyes. Do you share their name or did you take your parents' name?"

Arian didn't know why, he felt like sharing this part of his life. After all, Draco had shared a lot of his live and his friends' lives with him, too.

"I did neither. When I was adopted, I was allowed to chose not only my given but also my sure name. After a lot of pondering I decided for my mother's maiden name. The given name is similar to the given name my parents gave me. Well, at least the short form "Ari". At first it was kind of strange and confusingto go by a completely new name, but I soon got used to it. Now I wouldn't want to change it for anything in the world."

Draco nodded and smiled a little at this. Yes, this he could understand quite well. Often older kids had asked him, why he wouldn't make his parents change his name, seeing as it was so strange and horrible sounding. But Draco had always said he didn't want to. It had been his parents' decision and he would honour it.

So Arian indirectly keeping his parents' name but changing it into a new one would have been what Draco had done. Though it seemed reasonable to him, something else was bugging him. Frowning a little, Draco titled his head.

"But why did you take over your mother's maiden name? Doesn't this hurt your family's honour and feelings?"

Well, yes, that surely must have been quite confusing. But his reasoning was understandable. Deciding hadn't been easy for Arian, no, not at all. But after a lot of explaining and reasoning his parents just as Dudley understood, why he decided this way.

"My adopted parents just like my adopted brother are muggles. Though in the case of my adopted mother, who is my mother's sister by the way, I have to say I think she is a squib. I found an old family tree album in our cellar. There stood my grandparents from the side of my mother, were wizards and witches. My mother was a witch, too, but my adopted mother wasn't, which caused a lot of trouble, hate and jealousy. My father was a pureblood wizard with a widely known family name."

Taking in a deep breath, Arian looked at Draco and tried to analyse what the blond boy would be about to think.

"My adopted family was against md taking over their name. It is a muggle name and they feared it would only hinder my possibilities in the magical world, seeing as they know about the prejudicial way of thinking most wizards and witches possessed. Taking over my father's sure name was impossible, too. My father was rather famous for what he had accomplished in the war. If I took over his name, it would be too easily for others to figure out who I am and who my parents were. This would leave me defenceless to any kind of manipulation. And my adopted mother knows from tales my mother told her that manipulation is a widely spread hobby in the wizarding society. Only my mother's maiden name was left after that."

Leaning back in his seat, Arian sighed deeply. It had been a lot to think about. Especially what his adopted mother had told him about the manipulations. Before he had left for Hogwarts, she had warned him to not trust the Headmaster. She knew the man and how easy it was for him to make people attend to all his wishes. His mother and his father had fallen victims to him. Arian wouldn't. That he would make sure of.

"Furthermore it won't cause any problems in my family, especially not containing the family honour. My adopted mother was an Evans, too. Therefore this won't be difficult. And for the magical world this name is the perfect solution. Though it is not a name as well known as my father's, it is a known name in my parents' generation. So, you see no problems at all."

Arian's smile was blinding. Draco, not able to resist smiled back at him. The others were still occupied with what they were doing. Yes, Arian's reasoning was quite understandable. Looking out of the window, Draco suddenly gasped in surprise. Jumping up from his seat, Draco spun around to face the others.

"Hurry up, you lot. We're nearly there. Just some minutes left and we will arrive at Hogwarts!"

Hectic movements spread over the small compartment. Each student was searching for his robes and trying to put them on in rash movements. While everyone was occupied with him- or herself, Arian was smiling broadly. Finally, tonight he would be sorted into a House, find new friends. And tomorrow, tomorrow he would learn more about magic.

The Hall was stuffed with black clad people. After the group had left the train, a giant man had been calling for them to come over to the where he was standing. He greeted them with his booming voice and then told them to board the boats. The ride over the lake was quite exciting. There was a giant squid swimming next to them and when they were finally able to see the imposing castle. For the first time in his life Arian had been speechless.

When they had finally arrive before the castle, a stern looking, elderly witch had opened the doors and led them into a big waiting room. Shortly later she disappeared to look whether the others were ready for them. As soon as she had left the hall, a loud and agitated whispering ensued. Most wanted to know how the sorting would happen. A loud red head proclaimed with a booming voice that they would have to fight a troll. This only caused Draco to snort in disgust. Knowing from his father, Draco knew that would have to put a hat on their heads so it could judge them by their personality.

This moment, the door leading to the waiting hall opened and the stern looking witch came back. With a harsh and cold voice she told them to line up and then to follow her out to the Great Hall. Silently Arian took his place next to Draco and then walked out like all the other first years did. Once the giant, wooden doors opened, Arian and all the other first years were placed on the podium. Behind them there was a huge, long table, where the teachers were obviously sitting. Opposite of them were four long tables, habituating all the other students.

In the middle of the podium, situated so the students as well as all teachers would be able to see it, was placed a small chair. The stern looking witch, who had led them into the hall, was stepping forward this very moment, an old, dirty hat in her hands. Without words, she lay it down on the chair and then stepped back. Just when Arian wondered what was about to happen next, the old hat opened its mouth and started to sing.

It was a strange song about Hogwarts and the four houses they were going to get sorted in. With a little pang Arian realized that for all those kids who had never once heard of magic or Hogwarts before, the hat's song and the house descriptions must be very uninformative and dissatisfying. To judge your character and those of your year mates by two adjectives given per house seemed rather difficult and wrong.

Once the hat had ended, a loud and booming clapping ensued. The old, stern looking witch - Draco had told him during the song she was called Professor McGonagall - was stepping forward, a long sheet of parchment in her hands. Clearing her throat, so the students would be quiet, she read the name out loud and waited for the student to appear.

The first one to get called was Hannah Abbott and some seconds later she was sorted into Hufflepuff. Susan Bones followed her and sat down next to her. Terry Boot, together with Mandy Brocklehurst, was sorted into Ravenclaw. A pretty looking girl with long, dark hair by the name of Lavender Brown was sorted into Gryffindor. When Millicent Bulstrode was called, Arian crossed his fingers. She had expressed her absolute to wish to get sorted into Slytherin and frankly, Arian thought it would suit her well. So when the hat decided and called her to be in Slytherin, Arian just like his other friends clapped enthusiastically.

Finally Arian Evans was called. Straightening up, Arian stepped forward and placed the hat on his head. A small flicker over his shoulder informed him, of what his parents and he had wished for. The Headmaster of Hogwarts didn't show any special interest in him at all. Looking to where the students were sitting, Arian's world went black due to the huge hat.

"Hmm, you are a difficult case, small one, very difficult." A tiny, high pitched voice whispered into his ears. "You are brave, yes, and you value your true friendships. You are loyal to those who deserve it and you love peace and quiet. You are ambitious and you a sneaky if you have to be. But overall you have a bright mind, you have talent, yes, lots of it and you love to gain knowledge. Hmm, so where to sort you, where to sort you?"

Arian kept quiet throughout the whole mind speak. From what he knew that hat had told him this very moment, he was suited for every house. But that wouldn't do. More than anything in the world, Arian loved books and gaining knowledge. Yes, family and friends were just as important, but for his school career, knowledge just seemed more important.

"Well, I see you have made up your mind. And a good decision you have made. You will be happy there and you will find true friendship, not only in your house but also in other houses. So, please, stand up and join RAVENCLAW!"

With a broad smile on his face, Arian lifted the hat from his head and gave it to the Professor. He could see Draco and his other friends smile approvingly at him and hear them clap excitedly. Turning around, Arian descended the podium and walked over to where the second table from the left was clapping enthusiastically for him. Taking his seat next to Terry Boot, who greeted him really warmly; Arian turned back to the podium and watched the rest of the sorting ceremony.

Some minutes later, all first years were sorted. Justin Finch-Fletchley, Morag McDougal and Anna Moon were sorted into Hufflepuff, Seamus Finnigan, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Parvati Patil, Sally-Anne Perks, Dean Thomas and Ronald Weasley were sorted into Gryffindor, Vincent Crabbe, Daphne Greengrass, Gregory Goyle, Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini became Slytherins and Michael Corner, Stephen Cornfoot, Kevin Entwhistle, Anthony Goldstein, Su Li, Padma Patil, Lisa Turpin were joining Arian in Ravenclaw House.

Once the sorting had finished, the Headmaster got up from his chair and opened the feast with a ridiculous speech. As soon as he had ended, the plates in front of them, filled with the most delicious food Arian had seen in his life. He hadn't thought there was anything surpassing his mother's cooking but this put even her to shame. Digging in happily, Arian ate his food, looking around contently. With a feeling of contentedness, Arian realized, the Headmaster was still not sparing him a single glance. In fact only few people were looking at him.

There were his house mates, especially higher year girls, who were looking at him dreamily, gushing about his beauty and his cuteness. Trying hard not to blush, Arian tried to ignore him. Then there were his friends from Slytherin, who greeted him with a wink of their eyes and who raised her glasses in toast. They had told him, it would be much easier for them to stay in contact with him and associate with him, if he got sorted into Ravenclaw, as the two houses had always been united through a strong friendship.

Turning around to where the teachers were sitting, Arian realized two more people were looking at him. The first was a small, no tiny, elderly professor, who Arian had been told, was the head of his house. He looked like a nice and friendly teacher and was smiling broadly at him, when their eyes met. The other person was a young, dark haired professor. He had a pale skin and really dark eyes. This, Arian had been told by a year mate, one of the girls who had been gushing about him, Cho Chang, was the Potions Master Snape. He was told to be careful around him as the professor openly took advantage of every single mistake so he could take points. To his surprise, though, Arian realized the man wasn't looking at him with disgust, anger or hate. No, there was something else in his eyes, something like utter disbelieve and a tiny bit of hope.

Once they had finished eating, the Headmaster dismissed them. Following his prefects to their common room, Arian realized he really started to love living in Hogwarts.

* * *

**A/N:** I haven't updated this story for quite some time. I know this and I am terribly sorry for this. But at the moment I sadly have neither the time nor the inspiration to continue all of my uncompleted stories. This is why I opened a **poll** on my profile. I want to find out which story interests my readers the most. So I can at least try and finish this one for you. So, please, take the time, visit my profile and vote for your favourite story! It will help me a lot. Thanks!


	4. Chapter 4

**Spreading his Wings - Learning to Fly**

**Author:** FelesMagica

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Harry Potter or any of these characters (these belong to J. K. Rowling), nor the idea of Ravenclaw!Harry, good!Dursleys, good!Malfoys and good!Severus. I don't know who owns them, to say I'm sorry for borrowing them. If I would know, I would ask. However, I **do** own my plot.

**Summary: **Seeing the value of having a wizard in the family, the Dursleys treated Harry properly, gaining a new son in the process. They fostered Harry's curiosity and love of knowledge, changing his whole future. Ravenclaw!Harry

**Genre: **Family / Friendship

**Challenge:** This is an answer to Sharlmalfoy's "The Different Sorting Challenge"!

**Warnings:** This story may contain some swearing and spanking. Furthermore, it contains Ravenclaw!Harry, good!Dursleys, good!Malfoys, good!Severus and some minor bashings. Don't like it, then please don't read further.

First of all, thanks for all the reviews. I can't promise there will be regular updates, but at least I can tell you, that I found my inspiration and love for this story again.

As some of you seemed to be a bit worried about the bashing-part I announced in the summary, I can placate you that bashing will be kept to minimum possible. But, seeing as Dumbledore won't be portrayed as the good and loving, grandfatherly old man, small parts of bashing might occur. I can promise you, however, that he won't be turned into the next super Dark Lord, nor will the Dark Side suddenly find their hearts and compassion. They will remain "dark".

As for most of the other questions, they will be answered in this or the next chapter. Just be patient and keep on reading, you will find out soon.

* * *

The next morning found Arian and the rest of the Ravenclaws in them common room, waiting for the lasts of their year, so they could finally go down to have breakfast. The nice prefect had told them just before they had entered their new home that she would accompany them to the Great Hall and the rooms to all of their classes so they would not only be on time for breakfast and the lessons, but would be able to remember the way for the whole year. Arian thought in a very intelligent thing to do. The few moments they had been following their prefects through Hogwarts to find their common room, had been enough for Arian to realize how big the castle had to be.

After what seemed to be five minutes, the group arrived at their destination. The two prefects had stopped in front a huge painting, a portrayal to be precise. The portrayal was featuring a young woman with long, brown hair and light blue eyes. She was wearing a deep blue set of dress robes and held a gigantic book. Her face, Arian realized, was neither beautiful nor ugly. It was a very plain face, with no certain aspects to remember. Only the pair of blue eyes was something to remember. Her gaze was hard, calculating, her eyes hard like steal. With a stern look on her face, the woman had turned to the students and demanded they solve her riddle.

Arian was beneath himself with delight. Solving a riddle to gain entrance sounded like real fun. With a smile on his face, Arian held his arm up and told the stern looking witch his another. Upon hearing his answer her stern face lighted up in a friendly and fondly expression. Bowing lightly to the mass of students, the witch on the portrayal let the door to their new home.

When Arian entered, his mouth dropped open in wonder, amazement and awe. The huge room he had entered was round to his amazement and was filled with dark blue hangings and huge, dark blue armchairs. The floor was of a light bronze tone and the ceiling was domed, painted with stars. The other side of the door the room featured a replica statue of Rowena wearing her diadem. Through the big windows Arian had a spectacular view over the surrounding mountains and the sun that disappeared behind them on the purple sky. To the right and to the left were staircases, leading to upper floors.

Now that Arian was able to look around with more time, it became clear to him who the witch in the painting had been. It had to be the daughter of Rowena Ravenclaw, seeing as the resemblance was just too overwhelming.

After the two prefects and their Head of House, Professor Flitwick, a small, but always excited man, had explained to them the house rules and told them the most important things they would have to remember, the first year students were sent to bed.

Now the group of new Ravenclaws was walking down the halls, remembering each and every corner and hallway and finally reached their destination, the Great Hall. Together they sat down at their table not as a whole group but splitting up and joining the older Ravenclaws. While the students were eating, Professor Flitwick walked around and gave out their timetables. Just as his timetable landed next to his plate, Arian was looking around the Great Hall. Nearly all of the students were present at the moment. A shimmer of silvery white caught his attention and caused him to search for it. Finding it, his gaze fell on Draco Malfoy. His friend was at the moment scanning through his timetable, though he must have felt Arian's gaze on him as soon later Draco look up from the piece of paper in his hands and looked up to Arian. Smiling brightly at him, Draco waved back a little and then went to get up from the table.

With a fond smile on his face, Arian reached for the small piece of paper laying next to his plate. It was a wonder what a huge positive effect such a little act as a true, fond smile could have upon him.

The timetable seemed to be a fairly nice one. Each Friday they would have morning classes only circling around Defence Against the Dark Arts. A prudent decision, in Arian`s mind. The subject seemed rather important and difficult. Having a whole day only to think about it, might prove to be rather helpful. Potions and History of Magic would always be during the afternoon classes, so they would have time after lunch to prepare themselves for those classes, Charms and Transfiguration in the morning classes, meaning their heads would be free and fresh from sleep and breakfast, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures just before lunch, so staying outside wouldn't be too bad and once a week Astronomy at Midnight.

As expected, Ravenclaw shared all their classes with Hufflepuff, leaving Gryffindor with Slytherin. No one knew why, seeing as the tension between the two houses was palpable. Letting Gryffindor and Hufflepuff share classes would be helpful for both, as the Hufflepuffs wouldn't feel so bad for not being bookworms and the Gryffindors would associate well with the Hufflepuffs` friendly and loyal behaviour.

The Slytherins on the other hand would be motivated to study more, seeing themselves in direct competition with the rather well prepared and knowledgeable Ravenclaws, while those would gain from this change, as they would be able to live to their full potentials. The most preferable reason would however be, that Ravenclaws didn't care too much for the Slytherins' bad reputation, as they only believed in things which could be proven.

And being evil by nature through your sorted house certainly wasn't.

There had been many attempts in the past, and probably would be in the future, to change this system. Headmaster Dumbledore, however, always rejected those advices. He claimed that having Gryffindors and Slytherins socialize on a daily basis, would help them to overcome their prejudices and get along better. That was, what Headmaster Dumbledore would state when asked by concerned parents or the investigating press.

It seemed logical and like a good idea. Arian, however, suspected other reasons. From what Draco had told him, Dumbledore seemed rather biased and overly too fond of the Gryffindors. Letting them stick together with the Slytherins would be a perfect way to show the world how evil and corrupted the snakes truly were.

Not for the first time in his short life, Arian thanked his mother, who had, during many rainy summer days, taken the time and the patience to go with him through Lily Potter's personal things like diary, notes, schoolbooks and letters. It was thanks to her and her memories that Arian soon came to the conclusion that not everything was fine and well in the wizarding world and that one should always be on guard, especially when old, manipulating men were involved.

The Headmaster may seem like a trustworthy person. However, his biological parents' friend had, too, and now everyone could see what Lily and James Potter had gained from that.

No, he wouldn't make the same mistake, Arian decided. He would keep his eyes open.

Filing his dark and all but depressing thoughts away for the moment, Arian finished his breakfast and gathered his things. It wouldn't do him any good to be late on his first day of school.

Once the Ravenclaw first years were ready, they gathered together and left the Great Hall. Theories and speculations about what might expect them captivated their interest and thoughts.

Hadn't they been too engrossed in their talks arguments, Arian might have notice the calculating gaze in one old man's eyes.

* * *

Their first class of the day was Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall was going to teach it. From what Arian had read in Hogwarts - A History, Transfiguration was a rather difficult subject in which only few people ever excelled. His father had obviously been one of them.

In his need to be prepared for everything and to learn as much as he could, Arian had already started reading through the book before the term had started. It had been fascinating: the spells, the effects they had, but most of all the theory behind it. It didn't sound too overly difficult nor too complex, but this could be because Arian had compared his Transfiguration book with some of his mother's notes. It helped a lot to know what she had found important enough to copy and write down.

Sitting down in the front row next to Padma Patil and Terry Boot, Arian waited patiently for the Professor to arrive.

When Professor McGonagall arrived, her stern gaze swept upon the students, not missing a single one. Her eyes stayed emotionless, stern and calculating as her eyes took the new students in. However, when she finally looked at the students in the front row and her gaze fell upon Arian, her eyes widened considerably for a marginal second. The expression immediately faded away into the emotionless mask she had worn before, but still Arian was absolutely sure he had seen incredible hope followed by immense sadness for a split moment.

"Good morning, students. Please sit down and listen to me closely. Transfiguration is one of the most difficult and dangerous branches of magic itself. Whoever thinks, he or she has to disrupt my lesson or cause havoc, can be sure to leave this room for good and never be allowed back in.", her sharp and stern voice echoed through the room.

Turning around to the blackboard, Professor McGonagall raised her wand and, with a short but precise movement, a chalk started to label it.

For the next hour, Arian and his friends sat there, writing down what Professor McGonagall had somehow dictated to the chalk. Several pieces of parchment were already filled with long lists of movements, chants and theories. It wasn't that difficult, Arian thought while writing; after having read through it again and thinking it through he should be able to memorize those theories and work with them. And still he was growing restless. Just writing down things had never been what he solely wanted to do.

"That should suffice for the moment.", Professor McGonagall`s voice broke through his musings. "Put away your quills and parchment. You will need space to move. Now, grab your wands. We will start with your first exercise now."

Excitement started to bubble in Arian. Learning theories was all good and well. But ever since he had known that he was a wizard, he had felt the incredible need to _do _magic instead just to read about it. Gingerly he grabbed his wand, which felt warm and comforting in his hands, and turned expectant eyes towards his Professor.

Once she had made sure that every student had his or her wand in hand and all things had been put away, McGonagall made a short wand movement and changed a match into needle.

The magic didn't look outstanding, nor was it overly astounding and yet Arian soon found out that he should admire the Professor for changing the match with such an ease. There was a huge difference between theoretically knowing and understanding how you were to change it and trying it yourself. It was difficult and very frustrating, seeing as there was no to nearly no improvement.

At the end of the lesson, none of them had managed to change the match into a needle completely. Padma's match became silvery and Arian's was formed like a needle, while Terry's became a strange mixture of both.

Before they were allowed to leave, Professor McGonagall wanted them to stay, so she could have a better look at their improvements, stating what they had done wrong and what they should change in the future.

When she finally reached the front row, the Professor paused in front of their table, her eyes roaming over their achievements. With a nod of approval and a rare but genuine smile, McGonagall looked at Terry. "Well done, Mr. Boot. With a little more practice you should be able to change it completely."

Going further to the left, Arian expected her to compliment him, too. But instead of praising him, McGonagall just ignored his work, not sparing it nor him a single glance and paused in front of Padma. "Well done, Miss Patil. You definitely seem to have a talent for transfiguration. Well then, class, please practice this transfiguration for the next lesson. Class dismissed."

Too shocked to understand what happened and why the Professor had so bluntly ignored him, Arian packed his things away and followed his happily and excitingly babbling friends out of the room.

"What a fantastic lesson! Don't you think so, too, Arian?", Padma exclaimed excitedly, once the door to the classroom was closed. Arian nodded absentmindedly, though he had to approve. The lesson was a fantastic one, indeed.

And still he couldn't feel happy about it. The Professor's strange behaviour towards him was unexplainable.

And unexplainable things irked him.

* * *

Too disturbed by what had happened, Arian sat through lunch, only half-heartedly listening to his comrades talking, before he gathered his things and went to Potions.

The classroom door was open and so Arian and his friends entered and took their places in the front rows. The room was dark, with no natural light reaching through the magical windows. A high ceiling with different kinds of herbs and other things - Arian decided he preferred to not know what exactly it was - were hanging down from it, though not reaching their heads.

In the front there was a huge blackboard, next to a fireplace where the Potions Master's cauldron would soon be placed to demonstrate them the correct way of brewing. When Arian had first heard from his mother that magic did not only include wand swinging and spell chanting, but also brewing of potions, he had been very fascinated to say the at least.

Potions reminded him a lot of chemistry. It was interesting, very complicated and complex, with lots of things to study and to keep in mind. When done wrong, potions like chemistry experiments could go horribly wrong. Arian was sure that it would be fascinating him a lot, as all subjects did so far, but still he had the feeling that potions would never be his favourite subject.

Arian preferred thinking and theorizing to doing manual work. Even waving a wand was better than chopping.

He could chop and slice and munch things, that wasn't the problem. He just knew that brewing a potion theoretically, to say only in his mind, would be what he would choose instead of having to brew it for real.

Hopefully, this wouldn't cause him too many problems.

Arian wasn't able to think the consequences through, before the door to the classroom was thrown open and a dark, tall figure entered the room. Having shocked the students into silence, Professor Snape walked through the classroom, his eyes scanning minutely through the horde of students, his robe billowing behind him.

As the professor took his place in front of the class, Arian knew for sure that he had found someone he would come to admire. Though a sinister expression on his face, completed by uncaringly cold eyes, the man radiated power, knowledge and most of all wisdom. He was more than a regular Potions Master, Arian thought. He seemed to live for his subject.

With his gruff voice Professor Snape was easily able to cut through the heavy silence. One by one the students' names were called. The Professor took his time to take in each student, as if he was not only trying to memorize their names and appearances, but as if he already tried to figure out who might succeed in his subject and who probably wouldn't.

He made no difference while reading through the names. When he, however, reached the name Evans, Professor Snape seemed to stumble over the surname. For mere seconds, he didn't do anything else beside staring intently at the young boy sitting in front of him. Black eyes stared intently at Arian, as if they were searching for something.

The intensity of gaze made Arian gulp. He felt as if those eyes could do more than just look at him, it was as if they saw right through him, to the depths of his soul. The Potions Master was searching for something, that much was clear.

After seconds which felt like hours, Professor Snape closed his eyes and shuddered, breaking the strange connection between them. Centring himself, he shook his head as if he was trying to get rid of unpleasant memories and returned to reading through the name list, as if nothing had happened.

Arian was at a loss at what to do.

From there on, nothing strange nor unexpected happened. Professor Snape handed out a written test, to find out what important knowledge they were missing, as he stated. After having completed it, they were allowed to try brewing their first potion.

It was a rather easy one, with not too many ingredients and not too many different stages. Arian chopped, sliced and munched as the Professor wanted him to, earning himself and his house a praise.

And though he seemed to have a talent for brewing, as this was what Professor Snape told him with a strangely strangled expression on his face, he knew that this would never be his favourite subject.

He liked his hands clean and nicely smelling, thank you very much.

And though the class was pleasant itself and the theory behind the potion brewing interesting to say at least, Arians wasn't really satisfied, not even for having earned ten house points. Something was amiss with the Professor and now, with his curiosity sparked and his thirst for knowledge of whatever kind growing, Arian knew that he would be spending many nights pondering.

How utterly annoying.

* * *

After two more days Arian was sure that he had never been more confused in his whole life. Whatever he had expected, Hogwarts, the staff, his year mates and the subjects didn't turn out at all how he had them expected to.

In the light of the fireplace, Arian took a seat next to the brightly burning fire, grabbed his parchment and quill and started to think. It had been three days since he had left for Hogwarts, three days since he had last communicated with his family. Whatever it was, his family always helped him through it. Perhaps a letter was in order?

Deciding to ask his mother and father for help, Arian tucked the quill into the ink and started to write.

_Dear Mother and Father, dear Dudley,_

_It has been three days since I last contacted you and I want to apologize if I left you worried. So many things have happened here, too many to write down everything in one single letter._

_First of all, I want you to know, Mother, that you of course assumed right. I was sorted into Ravenclaw, as you were assured I would. Though the Hat was convinced I would do brilliantly in each of the four houses, he seemed to be sure Ravenclaw was were I truly belong. And even after only three days at Hogwarts I have to say, I share his opinion. _

_I managed to make friends with my year mates already. Aside from me four boy and five girls were selected into Ravenclaw. They are basically all very nice and love reading and theorizing just as much as I do. It is indeed a blessing I was selected into this House, I wouldn't know what I would be doing, should I have ended up somewhere else. _

_The castle is a sight to behold. You would love it here, Mother, for there are so many wild and exotic flowers and plants. Situation near a huge lake and an even larger forest, Hogwarts is as much a fairy-tale castle as it could be. Walking through the hallways, I can imagine Dudley running through. He would be excited to be here, so many places to encounter and so many things to try out. And Father, well, I think he would love to sit in one of the comfortable armchairs directly in front of the fire, hot tea and biscuits on the table and the newspapers in his hand._

_Some things are confusing, though. The stairways here are moving around. At first I thought they moved with a certain system, but after having watched them for quite a period of time, I can say that they just move around randomly. Why they are doing this, no one can tell. _

_Then there are the students. I first thought one would be able to notice, who comes from a wizarding family and who doesn't, but again, I guessed wrong. It seems to me that all students seem to know nearly as much about magic as the other; nearly nothing. It shocked me a bit that wizarding parents wouldn't teach their children the basic principles of magic. _

_Then there are the wizards and witches themselves. They seem to be a fairly strange folk. Their sense of fashion and styling is unique and their behaviour sometimes would leave you scandalized. _

_What confuses me most, however, is the staff's reaction towards my name. Professor Flitwick, my Head of House, wanted to know whether by any chance I was related to a brilliant former student of his, Lily Evans. I told him, I was, as I thought it too dangerous too lie to him and seeing as with the same surname and the resemblance Lily and I share, it wouldn't be prudent to deny a relation. _

_A lot of the other teachers share this curiosity. So far I have been asked by all Professors, with the exception of my Transfiguration and my Potions Professors. Which leads me to my next question: Professor McGonagall, who was very fond of James, from what I understand from Lily's diary, seems to hate me. Whenever I sit in her class, she is blatantly ignoring, never sparing me a single glance, nor does she comment on my work. It is frustrating, to say at least, and very much troubling. I dearly wish to know what I did to cause such a reaction. Could you help me with this? I would appreciate it, if you had the time to read through my mother's journals. Perhaps they contain a clue. _

_Equally frustrating and troubling is Professor Snape's reaction towards my presence. From what I gathered so far from others, especially older students, Professor Snape normally shows no interest in any students besides his Slytherins. It was therefore that I expected to be treated like the rest, with no great interest and no expectations. _

_However, Professor Snape reacted totally different from what I imagined. When reading my name, he looked at me quite shocked. This shock, however, soon vanished and was replaced by an eerie intense gaze, which seemed to reach my very soul. I don't know what he saw, for he must have seen something, but whatever it was, it caused him to regard me in a new light. He isn't overly friendly nor supportive of me, but he praises my work in public and is always there to help me improve my work. Most confusing, however, is the little flicker of happiness, I see in his eyes, when I fulfil my work to his expectations. It is entirely troubling, as such a behaviour seems to be completely out of place for this Professor. Do you, by any chance, know what this could have caused?_

_Sadly I have a sinking suspicion that soon there will be a lot of trouble ahead of me. But do not worry, Mother and Father, I will steer around it. You know me, there are few things I despise more than unnecessary trouble. _

_I will soon write you again. For the time being, however, I am keeping up with my studies. It wouldn't do me a lot of good if I fell behind already._

_With lots of love and the best wishes._

_Hoping to hear from you soon._

_Your Son_

_Arian_

Rereading the letter, Arian approved of it, folded it together and put it into his pocket. It was time to share with his family what was going on and happening here in Hogwarts. They would probably be nearly dying from suspense already, something Arian couldn't allow.

After having informed his friends where he would be going, Arian left the common room.

* * *

It must have taken him longer than he expected, for when he finally left the owls, it was dark outside. A gaze confirmed his suspicions; it was mere minutes before curfew. Cursing silently in his head, Arian quickened his steps and hurried to his common room. He would have been faster, had he run, but his sense of duty forbid him to do anything that would be against the school rules.

He was nearly at the Ravenclaw common room, when a sudden sharp whisper and the fluttering of robes caught his attention.

"- isn't there, Albus! You promised he would be. Whatever have you done-"

The enraged whisper belonged to a witch. From the tone she used, she had to be more than angry, though the high-pitched voice reduced the frightening effect considerably.

"Enough, Minerva. This topic is too sensitive to be discussed in the open. Come, we shall talk about it in my-", a gruff, male voice cut through the woman's demand. Coming to a sudden halt behind a corner, Arian could see that the displeased voice belonged to the Headmaster, who had all but scolded his Transfiguration Professor.

Too engrossed in their whispers, the two Professors didn't notice the young boy listening in on them, while they hurried away, their colourful robes billowing behind them. .

A surprised frown appeared on Arian's face. Someone was missing? And it was Headmaster Dumbledore's fault? Professor McGonagall seemed very distressed about the person's absence. So he had to be important. But, who could it be?

Could it be, that a first year student was missing? No, that couldn't be it. Professor McGonagall had read out loud all the names, which had been on the name list for sorting and no one had been missing. So, could it be that the name wasn't on the list at all? But how would Professor McGonagall then know that the name should have been on it? There was no way to be assured that a newborn child was going to become a witch or wizard. There were just chances. The probabilities of a pureblood family having a child with magical abilities was considerably higher than those of a Muggle family. Did that mean that a pureblood student was missing? But wouldn't the parents or the family contact the Aurors, seeing how precious children were to them?

It all didn't make too much sense.

Feeling the coldness reach his toes, Arian took a glance at his watch and cursed. It was all but curfew. If he didn't hurry now, he would be home too late.

Hurrying down the last corner, Arian decided to leave this mystery be and think about it, once he had time.

* * *

**A/N:** First of all, I want to tell you my thanks to all of you, who found the time and the interest to leave a review. The same goes for all of you, who decided to put my story on favourite or alert mood. Thank you very much. You don't know how much that means to me.

If you have questions, ideas for the plotline, suggestion and wishes, or if you found some grammar or spelling mistakes, please leave a review or contact me. Seeing as I for the moment have no beta-reader, I imagine there might be plenty of them. As always, comments, reviews and notes will be very much appreciated and always make a poor author's day.


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